A Brighter Mañana

On Jan. 9, Joamette Gil, an Afro-Cuban Portland cartoonist and publisher, reads and presents selections from Imagining Mañana: Unpacking Latinx Comics about the Distant Future at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on the University of Oregon campus. Gil edited and published Imagining Mañana in 2020 through her imprint, Power & Magic Press. Gil developed the anthology at the tail-end of Trump’s first term, and pressure on Latinx cultures has only intensified with Trump back in office. As part of the concept, Gil asked Latinx comic creators and visual storytellers to imagine how Latin America will change in the next 500 years, bookending about 500 years before 2020 when those cultures first made contact with Europeans. Mixing utopian and dystopian outcomes, the scenarios depicted in the comics “came from a Latinx person’s heart: What they sit with when they think about their future, what they’d like to see, or maybe what they’re afraid they’re going to see,” Gil says. “I came away feeling optimistic,” she adds, because even when creators imagined a pessimistic future, “they have a hopeful tone. The things that make us who we are can’t be destroyed.”

Imagining Mañana: Unpacking Latinx Comics about the Distant Future is 11:15 am Friday, Jan. 9, at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, 1430 Johnson Lane. The event is free.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!